Book Review: Next of Kin by Kia Abdullah

“Madness, after all, was in her blood.”

Kia Abdullah, Next of Kin

Review:

A dark and twisty thriller centered around family drama? I’m in.

Leila adores her nephew Max… so what happens when he’s found dead on her watch? Next thing she knows she’s put in front of a jury to decide if this was a terrible accident or intentional. Through the trial, a lot of things that have gone unsaid between her and her sister Yasmin come to light. This along with flashbacks to other difficult times in their lives makes for an emotional journey. But it doesn’t end there. There are more secrets being kept that threaten to change everything.

The book is broken up into three parts, each one following a different moment surrounding Max’s death and the trial. The writing is immersive, though it jumps around from character to character mid-chapter which I found to be distracting at times. Nevertheless, I was hooked and finished the book in under twenty-four hours. There were some other things about it I didn’t care for, however, I can’t be specific what as they could be considered spoilers.

A huge thanks to HarperCollins/Harper360 for sending me a free ARC to read and review!

Likes & Dislikes:

What I liked:

• There wasn’t excessive time spent getting to know the characters. We learn the basics in the first few pages before the plot takes off, then we get to learn more about them as the story progresses.
• Gripping writing. I was pulled in right away and it was a difficult book to put down.

What I didn’t like:

• Though gripping, the writing was also frequently disorganized and repetitive.
• As mentioned above, there were some topics that I found upsetting but can’t name without marking them as spoilers. However, as the plot progresses, it ends up illustrating some reasons why I don’t particularly agree with the characters’ points of view.

Afterthoughts:

What impressed me most about the book was Kia Abdullah’s ability to fit last-minute twists without the ending being completely upsetting. That being said, I will warn that the ending feels somewhat unresolved depending on how you look at it.

Where to buy the book: